A Man and a Rifle
by Lieutenant Caine
Summary: What exactly DO you get when a 6ft tall man lays down with a 3ft rifle?


**A Man and a Rifle**

Gunfire echoed from the direction of Calleigh's lab, accompanied by the soft metallic clatter of spent shell casings hitting the floor. A wry smile touched the corners of Horatio's mouth. He'd known exactly where to find her…among her beloved guns. Opening the door, he eased inside, not wanting to disturb her while she was firing the gun they'd recovered at the scene of the double homicide out in Coral Gables. Ironically, a disturbance was the very reason he had made his way to her domain. More than once recently, Calleigh's sassy remark about "hot flashes" had risen unbidden in his mind at the most inopportune moments, and it had affected him more than he cared to admit. His body warmed at the memory of her sultry voice and the coy look in her eyes when she'd popped off at him that day. After some thought on the matter, he decided to turn the tables on her.

Her absolute concentration on the task at hand allowed his ice blue eyes to freely take in the image she presented. Her petite form was in the classic shooter's stance, legs apart for stability, both arms extended in front of her, her small hands firmly gripping the butt of the 9mm. She fired three more perfect shots, and then removed the headgear and goggles, laying them down on the table in front of her. She turned, saw him standing there and greeted him with a brilliant smile.

"Hey, Horatio."

"Hey, yourself, Cal. Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all. What's you pleasure today? Glock? SIG Sauer? Beretta?

"A rifle," came his dry answer.

The sudden darting of her eyes toward his made him chuckle under his breath. Oh, so she was remembering that little remark too. All the better. It was perfect revenge he thought as he watched her duck in to the gun vault to retrieve the gun he'd requested. Moments later she emerged cradling a beautiful M-40A1 in her arms. As he took the Marine sniper rifle from her hands, he deliberately let his hand brush hers. Her quick, soft intake of breath let him know his plan was working.

"I believe a prone position would be best for handling such a beauty, don't you Calleigh?" he said, full well intending the double entendre his words presented. Amused, he watched as her face colored a bright pink and she could only nod in agreement. Agitation was obvious in her movements as she hastily snatched a mat from one of the side closets and placed it on the floor to protect his clothes.

Calleigh felt as though the air conditioning system had suddenly and spectacularly failed. All sorts of delicious thoughts ran through her head at his subtle sensual teasing. _My lord, girl, get a grip, _she thought sternly to herself. _He meant nothing by that remark. You are imagining things. Down girl, down! _Seconds later, however, any doubt that he was flirting was shattered when he slowly removed his jacket in a sensual, near strip tease act, allowing the material to slide smoothly and slowly from his shoulders, gradually revealing the broad expanse of his chest. Then he placed his sunglasses, badge and gun on the table and lowered himself gracefully to the floor, where he stretched out prone with the rifle tucked snuggly against his shoulder. The muscles of his back and hips flexed and moved under the silk dress shirt and the expensive slacks he wore. His hands almost caressed the weapon as he readied it for firing.

All the while, Calleigh could not tear her eyes away from the gorgeous man lying there on the floor of her lab. Hot flashes indeed! Her whole body felt feverish in response to the sight before her. Many times she had privately indulged herself in a heated fantasy about him and that rifle, but to have that fantasy play out in front of her was almost more than she could process. A mental image of his hands stroking over her body the way he was stroking the rifle made her mouth go dry and her breath catch in her throat.

Horatio sighted through the scope and let his finger slide onto the trigger. With practiced ease, he squeezed off a perfect shot…center of the mass. Quickly working the action of the rifle to lever shells into the chamber, he fired three more times in rapid succession. Precise, exact shots perforated the target. For several more long minutes he expertly put the rifle through its paces. When the ammunition she had provided him was all spent, he pushed up from the floor into a seated position, removed the protective goggles and headgear and stood up. Calleigh admired his skill with the weapon. She knew he was a marksman, and his performance with the rifle only served to prove that fact, along with completely rocking her off her feet with his blatant sexiness.

"That was impressive, Handsome," she said in a slightly breathless voice thanks to the images she had been entertaining the entire time he handled the rifle.

"Well, I certainly enjoyed it," he responded, his voice a step lower than usual as he handed the rifle back to her. Once again their hands brushed in the exchange, and this time Calleigh couldn't help the tiny little moan of arousal that escaped her lips.

"I think you enjoyed it too, didn't you Sweetheart?" he murmured, his voice a purring caress.

Before she could form a lucid response to the comment, his hand captured her chin to bring her face up to his. She had only a second of warning before his mouth covered hers in a searing kiss. Breath left her lungs in a rush, leaving her helpless against the immediate and scorching response of her own body. She only barely managed to set the rifle on the table behind her without breaking contact with him, then she curved her arms around his neck and gave herself over completely to the embrace. Soft, yielding curves met tautly muscled strength. Sensing her response, Horatio groaned and gathered her more closely against him, deepening the kiss. They were both lost in a haze of desire, each kiss feeding the blistering heat raging inside them now. His restless hands stroked across her back and shoulders and skimmed lightly along her ribs, tantalizingly close to the curving swell of her breast. Calleigh was beyond thinking, her brain responding only to his seductive mouth and hands and the magic they were working on her. They were both rapidly approaching that point where neither of them could pull back, but from somewhere in the back of Horatio's mind, a thread of sanity inserted itself, and he realized that at any moment, anyone could walk in on them. Reluctantly, he tore his lips away from hers, drawing in ragged, gasping breaths. He forced his hands to fall away from her more-than-willing body, and then pulled back far enough to look down into her passion-clouded eyes. The depth of his desire to possess her, body and soul, stunned him. He hand only meant to get back at her for that "hot flashes" remark, but in doing so he had discovered just how much he really wanted her, needed, even craved her. The fact that she obviously felt the same was not lost on him at all. He lifted a hand to cup the side of her face, letting his thumb stroke across her slightly swollen lips; lips he had just plundered.

He groaned, "Calleigh, Sweetheart, I didn't mean to…" his voice trailed off as she shushed him with a finger across his lips.

"Horatio, we've been dancing around this since the sniper case. It was bound to happen. There's no need to apologize for something we both want. I guess it just took a 6ft tall man and hot flashes to make us recognize it."

"That it did, Calleigh. That it did. You know, maybe I ought to thank that guy," he chuckled just before he claimed her lips in a sweet kiss.


End file.
